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Mount St. Mary's the Pick in the NEC

from press release

SOMERSET, N.J. – On the heels of winning the
inaugural Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse Title last season,
Mount St. Mary's has been predicted to accomplish the feat again in
2012, earning four first-place votes in the NEC Preseason Coaches'
Poll released Thursday. The Mountaineers, who defeated Quinnipiac,
14-9, to claim the 2011 title on their home turf at Waldron Family
Stadium, bested second-ranked Bryant, which received the final two
first-place nods in the six-team poll. Robert Morris was tabbed
third, followed by Quinnipiac in fourth and Sacred Heart in fifth.
Wagner completed the preseason prediction in sixth.

Under the direction of two-time NEC Coach of the Year Tom
Gravante, Mount St. Mary's (9-6, 4-1 NEC) made a strong run in the
second half, winning four of five games, before suffering a
double-overtime setback to Bryant, 9-8, in the regular-season
finale. However, after a week to prepare for the playoffs,
Gravante's team rekindled that momentum and avenged their loss to
the Bulldogs in the NEC semifinals, prevailing 14-9 en route to
capturing the title. This year's team should look a lot like lasts,
especially at offense with its top three scorers returning,
including All-NEC First Team selections Andrew Scalley (Arnold,
MD/Archbishop Spalding) and Brett Schmidt (Great Mills, MD/St.
Mary's Ryken). Scalley, a junior attack, paced the Mount with 38
goals and 52 points, ranking him second in the league in both
categories. Schmidt, the league's third-ranked scorer as a
midfielder, was just as potent, falling two points shy of him with
50 on 34 goals and 16 assists. Ranking third on the team and
completing the Mount's trio of 30-goal scorers, Cody Lehrer
(Baltimore, MD/Dulaney) pocketed 33 in addition to handing out 10
assists for 43 points.

Just like Mount St. Mary's, Bryant (8-9, 3-2 NEC) righted the
ship in the second half, winning five of its last seven
regular-season games after starting the year 3-6. The Bulldogs won
three of those second-half games by two goals or less, including a
9-8 double-overtime decision over NEC champion Mount St. Mary's.
Head coach Mike Pressler should be optimistic after that run with
several players that helped make that it happen returning for the
2012 campaign. Junior attack Peter McHahon (Wilton, CT/Wilton)
proved he could power the offense as a sophomore, scoring 20 goals
and totaling 50 points en route to earning All-NEC Second Team
honors. Senior Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) was
Pressler's top all-around middie, being named a first-team
all-league pick after netting 21 scores with 13 assists and 27
ground balls. Not to overshadow the offense, but the Bulldogs'
defense will be just as strong with junior Mason Poli (Downingtown,
PA/Downingtown East) patrolling the field and Jameson Love (Darien,
CT/Darien) in net. Poli, a first team honoree, produced 34 caused
turnovers and scooped up 64 ground balls. He also scored eight
times, including once on a man-down situation. Between the pipes,
Love racked up all eight wins for the Bulldogs while holding
opponents to a league-low 8.70 goals per game. He finished the year
with 144 saves and a .493 save percentage.

Slated third, Robert Morris (9-6, 3-2 NEC) will look to stay on
track in 2012 after the resignation of long-time head coach Bear
Davis and the graduation of two-time NEC Player of the Year Trevor
Moore. Good for new head coach Andrew McMinn, who enters his
seventh season with the Colonials after spending his previous six
on staff, he returns several All-NEC performers, including Canadian
midfielders Kiel Matisz (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Saltfleet) and Kyle
Buchanan (Nepean, Ontario/John McCrae) to run RMU's high-tempo
offense. Matisz supplied the Colonials with 16 goals and 20 assists
as a junior last season while Buchanan matched his point total with
20 goals and 16 assists. Both middies also picked up 34 ground
balls apiece. Defensively, junior Ben Lewis, a second team pick in
2011, returns as well after a season in which he recorded 20 ground
balls and 21 caused turnovers in 14 games.

NEC finalist Quinnipiac (7-7, 4-1 NEC) won five of its seven
games leading into its championship match with Mount St. Mary's,
including a double-overtime affair with Robert Morris in the
semifinal round of the tournament. This season's rendition of the
Bobcats, though, might have a new look with four of their five
All-NEC selections and several other contributors graduated. Junior
Basil Kostaras (Highland, TX/Episcopal), who played in all 14 games
last season and earned All-NEC Second Team accolades, returns as
the team's top scorer, posting 20 goals and 26 points in 2011.

Led by NEC Rookie of the Year Tim Canton (East Rochester,
NY/McQuad Jesuit), Sacred Heart (4-9, 1-4 NEC) will look to bounce
back from last season's 4-9 record. Canton scored five goals and
produced five points while scooping up 43 ground balls and being a
solid presence on the field. Along with Canton, fellow classmate
Mike Mawdsley (Innisfil, Ontario/Nouvelle-Alliance) returns to
anchor the offense. The Innisfil, Ontario native led all scorers
with 28 goals and 38 points, producing seven of his scores on
man-up situations.

The second team in the league with a new head coach, Wagner
(0-12, 0-5 NEC) will be lead by former All-American and two-time
national champion at the University of Virgnia, Matt Poskay, this
season. Poskay, who accepted the position last summer, looks to
turn around a Seahawk program that went 0-12 with a 0-5 mark in the
NEC. Good for the new coach, he returns numerous contributors
including All-NEC midfielder Colin O'Rourke (Worcester, MA/St.
John's Shrewsbury), who ranked second on the team in scoring with
18 goals and 25 points, and 15-goal producer Sam Morrisey (Long
Valley, NJ/West Morris Central).

One of the fastest growing sports in the United States, the NEC
announced the addition of men's lacrosse as its 23rd sponsored
sport in the spring of 2008. The six-team lineup that is featured
today played a partial schedule in 2010, before a full conference
slate was implemented in 2011. Following this season, the winner of
the 2013 NEC Championship will be awarded automatic access to the
NCAA Tournament.